


Open Your Eyes

by The Elder Gays (Katanachan)



Category: South Park
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Aged-Up Character(s), Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Dark, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Alternate Universe - Super Powers, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Porn, Angst and Tragedy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Flirting, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, College, Comfort/Angst, Crenny, Dark, Dark Past, Deception, Enemies, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fighting Kink, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Gratuitous Smut, Heavy Angst, Heroes to Villains, Implied Past Kyman, M/M, Manipulation, Mental Instability, Minor Violence, Obsessed Butters, One Sided Bunny, Secret Identity, Secret Relationship, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Smut, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Twenny, Villains, Villains to Heroes, Violence, bunny - Freeform, creek - Freeform, creekenny, super heroes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-05-08 22:50:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14704089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katanachan/pseuds/The%20Elder%20Gays
Summary: Shadow is the worlds most dangerous Super Villain. However, there's hope in the form of a new rag tag group of Super Heroes called the 'Freedom Pals'.In a world where heroes and powers are outlawed, can the Freedom Pals recruit Mysterion, the only hero to ever fight Shadow and live to tell the tale?Little do they know: Mysterion and Shadow are the same person and the world is more complicated than they thought.





	1. What have you become?

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo! I wanted to write something that starts dark and will eventually lead to the light. I like the idea that no matter how far gone someone is, you can always come back. 
> 
> So, here we are! Time to get our Super hero powers on and fight some villains! Let get this dark story rolling.
> 
> SONG!FIC: Inspired by 'Open up your eyes' - Emily Blunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! Hello and SALUTATIONS friends! Djinn and I (The Elder Gays) have decided to run a public server, it'll be a place for our ask blog, published writing and for a community of South Park fans to join and have fun. This will be a public server and you're more than welcome to invite others to the server and post it on social media.
> 
> https://discord.gg/dZbVDGm

It's dark and the room is full of fallen memories, cobwebs replacing spaces that existed to house items long gone. Rats skitter in the walls, but they don't even make the blonde flinch. He sits in a chair in the kitchen, alone at the table where the three siblings would eat alone often. He can hear the light footsteps of his sister, his information network having informed him of her most recent where-abouts. When he heard she was heading to their old home, it shocked him but also filled him with hope. He tries not to get ahead of himself as he opens his mouth to speak.

“I'm in the kitchen.” His voice carries across the empty, long forgotten home. If home could even be what this shack was called, his fingers moving as he carves something out of wood with a sharp knife in his hand.

Karen is clearly spooked, her hands tightening around the bag hugged to her chest. Her eyes widen, as she see’s her elder brother sitting at the kitchen table.

“K-Kenny, I didn’t expect you to be here…” She whispers into the dark room, watching his every movement, eyes steady on the blade in his hand.  
  
“If you didn't think I'd be here”, He pauses his carving, turning his eyes to glance at her as she walks in, “Why are you here?” He punctuates that question with a particularly violent cut in the wood, his eyes narrowing only slightly.

He isn't angry with her, but he isn't happy with her recent actions and he wishes he could tell her that. The way she flinches makes his stomach churn. He never wanted his baby sister to leave in the first place.

“I just wanted to come home for a little bit.” She offers, watching her brother with a fearful caution. He can see it in her eyes as she continues. “To see if the place was still standing, that’s all.”

Kenny’s icy eyes move from their point on the abused wood and watch her intently. He knows his sister like the back of his hand, he can predict her movements to a point, but she also can be a wild card.

“Don’t lie. What do you want?” Kenny’s voice stays level; he doesn’t want to reveal anything, even his own mood. The knife in his hand moves slowly as he starts detailing the base of the carving.  
  
“Why do I have to want anything.” She bristles, her shoulders lifting in a clear sign of agitation and a tell of hers she’s had since she was small. “Besides, what are _you_ even doing here?” Her voice is steady but he can hear the little trembles.  
  
“Why wouldn’t I be here? Is this any less my home as it is yours? Or have you forgotten about your family, since you’ve replaced me so easily.”

Kenny slams the knife down on the table to punctuate the word ‘family’, blade striking hard into the wood, showing his sheer strength without much effort. The blonde watches his sister take a few steps back, her eyes narrowing.

“Fine. I came here to hide.” She doesn’t touch his accusation, instead she watches as his chest rises with a deep breath before he places the thing he carved on the table next to the standing knife.

“You wouldn’t need a place to hide if you just came home, Karen.”  
  
Her hair swishes as she shakes her head, “That’s not how it is, Kenny.” She pauses as her eyes slide to the knife sticking out of the table. “I only need a place to stay, to hide out for a little bit. He…” Her eyes look sad as she mentions the boy she left their home for, _him for_. “He’s laying low and I couldn’t stay with him.” She finishes, looking anywhere but her brother.

Kenny’s nostrils flare, the only sign that he’s infuriated at her words. The rest of him is stock still, his face cold and passive. His eyes narrow a fraction as he pushes off of his chair, standing.

“Leaving this dump is one thing, leaving me? Well. You made it very clear how you felt when you ran away with that little _brat_.” He saunters to the counter and runs a finger across the wood; he pulls back dust and makes a look at it as he wipes it off on his pants, uncaring.

Karen frowns, the tired lines of her face etched deep into her beautiful features. “He promised to protect me, Kenny. I didn’t want to get in your way and he could keep me safe while you did your...” Her eyes dart to him, “work.”

Kenny meets her eyes and holds; he can almost see the conviction in her eyes. “You’re right. I can’t protect what isn’t around. I’m not a god.”

“Kenny,” She starts and it sounds like there are a million different emotions in her voice. “I don’t know when he’ll be back. I need you to help me. Please?”

The cold facade drops like a curtain and suddenly the man standing in front of her is totally different. From his lax stance to the sudden emotions filting through his blue eyes, no longer ice cold. He takes a baby step forward, almost aborted in the way he lingers. It's like he's trying to tell if this is some sort of trick, but he relaxes and suddenly there's this smile stretched across his features.

“Karen, of course I will.” His melodical laughter fills the air as he takes a few more steps forward, his hands gesturing. “You can come home. We can open that bakery you always wanted.”

He's looming in front of her, love and adoration covering the face of a murderer. “I won't let them hurt you.”  
  
Karen’s eyes widen almost comically at the change, stepping back and almost hitting the wall with her back. “N-no Kenny, this would be temporary. I’m not coming home. I just need a place to hide from the Catchers, they’re everywhere in the slums and they’ll get me in no time.” She sounds panicked, looking every which way except for her older brother. “I know you have sway with them, Kenny. I just need help.”  
  
Hurt crosses his features as he watches her movements. “Why won’t you come home?” He questions.

It takes three beats before Karen finally snaps, “Kenny you hurt people. You’re a bad guy. A villain!”

This catches him off guard and it almost makes him laugh the way she sounds so convinced. “I'm not innocent, that's true. But that doesn't matter, none of us are.”  
  
He reaches out, fingers a hair breath away from touching his little sister he hasn’t seen in two years. She jerks away quickly and glares at his hands as if they were made of daggers. “Please don’t put your hands on me.” She mutters, “They’re covered in the blood of too many people.”  
  
“These hands?” He offers, his hands out as he tilts his head. A manic smile stretches across his face; it makes him look like some twisted clown. A mockery of humor and in no way does the smile reach the look in his eyes, those blue depths holding insanity she could never understand. “These hands keep people safe.”

Kenny's laughter sounds dark and wrong as he puts his hands down, arms limp at his side.

“I do what I have to, to save people. If a few others have to go to make the majority live, well, thems the breaks.”  
  
“You’re mad.” Karen hisses, her back pressed flush to the wall behind her. “When did you turn into this, Kenny?” She shakes her head, voice cracking with emotions. “When did you break? Why didn’t I see it sooner? Oh, Kenny. I’m so sorry.” Tears start to build in the corner of her eyes, “I can’t save you, big brother. You’re too far gone.”  
  
The blonde stands there quietly, no words leaving his lips. But something about him was screaming. His aura was intensifying with each word she spoke, his fingers twitching minutely at his side.

Kenny could hear that familiar buzzing in his ears, the one that told him he was about to lose control. But he stamped it down. He refused to let that side of himself come out in front of Karen. She already thought he was a monster.

“I don’t need saving.” He spat, the words feeling toxic, venom on his tongue, poisoning him thoroughly. “And I am doing the right thing. I’m changing the world so people like us have better lives.”

His eyes grew sharp as he took a few steps forward, his voice dropping dangerously low in volume. “I know who I am and I know what I do, is necessary. You may not see big picture, little sister, but I always have.”

Stopping right in front of her, his head tilts, questioning her to dare and say more. The small girl in front of him tries not to coward to his height and stare, her back straight and her eyes clear.

“You’re wrong.” She pushes back with her words. “You’re wrong and someday you’re going to see that. You’re going to look in the mirror and see nothing left but a monster.”

“I'm the monster? I’ve seen what the real monsters look like, Karen. They aren’t me. You have no idea what this world can do.” His hand lifts in a fist before he opens it. “What I do to protect it.”

The tears pooling in her eyes finally fall as she shakes her head, “I know you’re in there some where Kenny.” Karen wipes at her cheek, trying to destroy any evidence of the tears and failing. “I have to believe you are because otherwise, you’re nothing but an empty shell. A murdering psycho with a hero complex.”

The tears stir something in him, he hasn't felt in a long time, his deep need to be the best brother he can be. To impress, to deserve love, to want approval of his only living family. But he squashes that feeling like every other time he's had to cut off his own emotions. Squashes those thoughts like he smashed that corrupt politician’s brains in as his family watched. Squashes his own pain as he did so thoroughly the night he was forced to murder an entire family under the guise of justice.

He doesn't need his little sister to tell him how despicable and disgusting he is, he has eyes, he can see himself. But he doesn't allow this to faze him, he simply puts his hand down and watches the tears flow from her eyes, his own eyes dead and lifeless. He's watched too many children cry like that to know his deeds are unwarranted.

“I might do some things I dislike, something’s I don't agree on. But I do them for a reason. You're seeing the small picture again, it's a puzzle baby sister and you lack the ability to see the full finished glory.”

Kenny's head tilts back to position before he's moving toward the knife on the table. His grip is strong as he jerks it out in one clean motion, as if the wood was butter.

“No. I have a job to do. This world can’t save it’s self, Karen. I don't understand why you can’t see that?” He turns, his eyes sharp as the knife he's carrying, glaring into her soul. “I tell you these things to, save you, Karen.”  
  
Karen stares at the knife, fear shining in those tearful eyes. “Kenny, what are you doing? I’ll listen, I promise. Tell me why you’re doing these things.” She rambles, as he gets closer.  
  
“Oh, willing to listen now?” He chides, rolling his eyes before he stops to stand in front of her, knife in hand.

“Why? Are you actually willing to listen? Doubtful.” He leans down in her face, his nose is scrunched and his eyes narrow before he stands back up. “No. It's because you have nowhere to go. This has absolutely nothing to do with my vision of a equal world, or how often we grew up hungry and cold, dying.” He can see her stiffen at the mention of their childhood, yet he continues.

He passes her and stabs the knife in the wall, one of the rats that had been running through the walls caught, screeching in pain through the thin wood. Red starts dripping out of the paisley colored wallpaper. Karen screams, covering her mouth with her hands, more tears rushing down her cheeks.

“Do you know where I was while you were with him? Hm? What I was doing?” Kenny turns, the knife wiggling behind him. “I was watching. Waiting, planning, plotting. I refuse to watch any more children die on these streets because those who rule over us let justice slip through their dirty fingertips.”

“Kenny! Please! This behavior isn’t normal! Let me help you!” Karen screams behind her cupped hand, closing her eyes and turning away as he grabs the knife.

Kenny pulls the knife from the wall, blood sliding down the cold metal. “Normal? Sister, when were we ever normal? You don't even comprehend what I did to keep food on the table and your clothes on your back. What I had to do when Kevin left us.” He sneers, watching the blood drip. “I tried to keep you out of this world, baby sister, but the first chance you got?"

The blonde wipes the blood on his own hand; putting the knife on his belt pocket he covers the other hand with it too. “You left me for that little punk and dove head first into this disgusting excuse for a world. So, you want to question the blood on my hands?”

“Well.” He holds his hands up and manically smiles, “Let me paint you a fucking picture with the blood I've spilt for you. Huh? Want me to? I can.”

Karen stares at her older brother as he draws stick figures on the wall behind him in the blood of the rat he killed. Her head shakes as she sobs, dropping to her knees. “Kenny I never asked you to do that for me.” She pleads, “I wanted us to be happy. I didn’t want you to hurt yourself for me.” Her hands cover her eyes as her tiny body shakes with the force of the tears. “Kenny, Jesus, I’m so sorry.”

One of Kenny's eyes twitches; he doesn't give it permission to, just like he doesn't give his tear ducts permission to allow the salty water that's falling down his cheeks. But it's happening and it confuses him. Something about this feeling in his stomach feels wrong, it's the guilt from making Karen feel this way. It's the memories that come playing back of a young child selling his body for scrapes of food. A world he refuses any other child to be part of.

“I would do it all again, too.” He finds himself saying, his voice devoid of the emotion that should be there. His eyes are blank and though he's staring at her, he's actually staring through her. “I wouldn't even hesitate for you, Karen.”

For a brief moment something normal flashes over his expression, a deep pain for all the things he's done. But as fleeting as that feeling was, it was replaced with something else, something broken and twisted. His heart beating to the drum of revenge, the sick notion that if he throws himself on to the blade, he can bathe the world in his blood and save them of their sins. He knows this thought is wrong, he knows he shouldn't be so careless with life. But he also knows that his regeneration powers allow for him to heal from any and all attempts on his life.

“Why can’t you stop then?” She begs, eyes squeezed shut. “With me gone, why didn’t you stop?”

“You leaving gave me a reason to redirect.” Stepping closer, his hands dripping with the fresh warm blood, his teeth flash, the sneer on his lips far from friendly. “And that void was filled, baby sister, now I can really show the world what I can do, who I can save, what can be accomplished.”

His shoulders start to shake as his body bends backwards with the laughter that's ejecting from his short form.

“I can do what no man can do. I can reshape this world. I can save those people who can't save them selves, Karen. I can do that. And I do. You have no idea how many people a few of those lives meant. How many slaves I freed from their dens, how many children I kept from abuse, how many mouths I fed, with one death- I can save many.”

His hand raises and he draws a number one on the wall. “One. One to save many. That's the price we pay for greatness.”

His laughter dies down as he steps into her space one more time.

“I did for you, what I now do for them. I refuse to sit back and allow this world to claim more children and turn them into me.”

“Kenny…you can’t change the entire world by yourself.” She shouts, her chest heaving with the weight of her brother’s words. “You can’t do this!”

"We design our own narrative, Karen. We're not just actors on a stage, we're the god damn writers of our lives." He moves, standing in her face and leans close to her, noses almost touching. "Don't you dare use the words 'cant change' around me, sister. I pulled us both out of the fucking mud and took us to a better life."

“You’ll fail, Kenny. You’ll fail. Someone will stop you.” Another hiss comes from her, glaring at her shell of a brother.

He turns the blade in his hand towards himself and stabs it into the flesh of his shoulder, "Might as well do this yourself because your words cut like fucking DAGGERS, Karen!" He pushes it further in to his flesh and hisses at the pain of it.

Karen screams, jumping forward to try and pull the knife out of his shoulder, but Kenny keeps it there. "When mom died you were a baby. Kevin split when you were five and it's been me. _I raised you. I protected you_. And what thanks do I get?"

Kenny rips the knife out, shoving her hands away and stabs the other shoulder with a soft groan. Blood is freely flowing from his wounds; his body is cursing him for his actions as he stumbles backwards.

"You did this to me. By running away to that freaking boy who takes you for granted. By not understanding that what I do, I do for the betterment of this world! I didn't suck cock and take gun shots to the fucking brain so you could throw your LIFE AWAY LIKE ME!" He rips the blade out and blood splatters on the kitchen table, he throws it to the side and throws his arms wide and turns his face to the ceiling.

"I wanted you to go to school. I wanted Heaven for you. I've never seen Heaven, I had to imagine what it would look like." He reaches for the imagery he speaks of before he finds himself hitting his knees, the act seems familiar. "Why, Karen?"

Karen rushes forward, her arms wrapping around her other brother. She’s crying, tears freely falling down her face. “Kenny… Kenny that isn’t what I wanted. I never asked for any of this. I didn’t want you to do this.”

Kenny blinks his eyes, watching her. He can feel the darkness creeping up, his limbs getting heavy, but that's okay because Karen is holding him. He smiles, blood staining his lips from some internal bleeding he must have caused. Kenny lifts his hand and touches her cheek, closing his eyes. "I just want my sister back. I would destroy this entire world for you. Rip people limb from limb. Storm Hell."

His words are his confessions; he knows they're true. His loyalty runs thick like his blood, his family. Karen is all he needs in this world and when she's gone, he is lost.

“Kenny,” She lays her head on his chest, his blood getting on her clothes. “Please. I know you can heal. You’re going to be okay, brother. Just, give it a minute. You’ll heal and I’ll listen. I promise. When you wake up. I’ll listen to what you want to do for this world. Just.” She weeps against him, “Give me my older brother back. This demon wearing his face, go away.”

As the darkness claws at the edges of his vision, Kenny’s memory fuzzes in and out and he can see the good moments of his life like a film. This is his favorite part of nearly dying. When the pain slips away and all he can see is Karen’s laughing face, the happiness he’s experienced with his friends, some long gone. He can hear her angelic voice as he fades, can hear her pleads.

A tear runs down his cheek for the happiness he wishes he could reach, his fingertips brushing against that dream, just out of reach. Yes, it’s now, when his eyes fade from reality that he sees the best of the best, his life without pain and regret. “I just wanted to love you, but my love ...” Kenny trails off as his voice fades in his throat, a gurgle of blood replacing it.

 _That’s okay_ ; he thinks to himself, _I’ll just tell her when I wake up. She was right to stay away from me no one should love me, not when I don’t even love me._

The two McCormick children sit on the floor of their long forgotten home, Karen pressing the hair out of her brother’s face as she waits for him to heal. Her eyes dart up at a sudden sound, her mouth opening wordlessly as a man with a gun walks through the front door. She knew they’d find her, but she hadn’t betted on Kenny being down when they got there.

“Looks like you saved me the trouble of killing him.” The man grins as he walks forward, looking at the blood on the ground. “One less freak in this world.”

Karen ignores him, pressing a kiss to Kenny’s cheek. She wouldn’t get to keep her promise; she wouldn’t get to see her brother come back to her. But at least she could do this for him.

“Goodbye Big Brother.”

She stands suddenly, her eyes glowing in the darkness as she activates her powers. The man takes a step back, raising the gun and shoots just as Karen explodes the house in a ball of fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that I had to kill Karen in the first chapter, but this flash-back was sorely needed.
> 
> Thank you Que, for pushing me to write the best I can.


	2. Addiction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some violence is on your way, time to jump to the present and see if we can't find out what our boy Kenny has been up to?

The wind blew harsh against the figure standing at the edge of the buildings roof, fabric rustling and dancing along with the on-coming storm. The figure, shrouded by darkness, hidden by the colors of their costume, narrows their eyes at the scene below them. The night had just started and his bones already ached in the cold air. Why Kenny decided on such a thin fabric for his super hero costume, he will ever know. He for sure was regretting it now. Sighing, he looks over the area he was surveying.

Mysterion had received word down the grapevine that one of the lower tier villains in the area was up to something stupid on the out skirts of the city. The view below him seemed ridiculous as he rolled his eyes behind his mask, small fries never really understood the beauty and finesse to a real heist.

He leans out of the shadows and narrows his eyes. “What the hell is the point to most of this?” He mutters to himself, crates littered the yard and to him they appeared to be empty.

Stepping out of the shadows seems to be the best way to lure out the bad guys from there hiding places. “Olly Olly Oxen Free!” Kenny yells with his hands cupped over his mouth. He can hear some shuffling before a couple of men walk out in to the yard.

“What do we have here? A costumed freak?” One of the men scoffs, his head turning to laugh and point at Mysterion. “Thought all of yous were killed?”

The other man next to him shrugs and joins the first man in his laughter, “More fun for us, ain’t it?”

The men circle around the boy in purple, thinking they have the upper hand. But Mysterion cracks his neck before shifting his body into a stance that would be easier to receive the first of the men. He'd taken into account how many of them their were before he had even changed the position of his feet. Watching them as they cautiously approached the blonde, he scuffs his heel against the ground and twists his body, his leg lifts and with the momentum he slams his heel into the first man’s face. He hears the crunch of the taller mans nose before his round house is finished.

Landing to the side of the man grabbing his own nose in pain, Kenny whips his cloak to hide himself as he grabs at the man's leg, knocking him down hard on the ground. His eyes glance up from his crouched position, a smirk pulling at the corner of his lips as he pushes off the ground with his hands. Running in low he baseball slides underneath one of the thugs that swings at his face, tucking close to the ground, he pushes up with his palms and back flips himself off the ground past one of the other men.

As he lands, he tosses two of his smoke bombs into the crowd of three of the men before he's in a fistfight with the fourth one. He blocks the first punch aimed for his jaw, the second connecting with his shoulder. Mysterion barks out a laugh as he grabs the man’s wrist and twists his arm until he can pin it behind his back. He slams the guy against the ground before he's back up again.

One of the three in the smoke comes out of the cloud coughing and Kenny jolts forward, his palm is open as he slams it in to the man’s throat, before he spins and kicks him in the chest. The guy goes flying backwards and hits one of the other disoriented thugs.

 _One more,_ Kenny thinks as he rushes in to the clearing smoke, he finds the man but is disturbed to see he has a knife on him. _Playing like that are we_? He exclaims to himself before the man starts toward him.

Mysterion dodges the attacks, trying his best not to get sliced by the knife. He just had this costume patched up and he rather not deal with another fucking rush job. Not only that, but Karen would be disappointed with him had he allowed himself to be stabbed once again.

Kenny decides to take the higher ground and jumps on to one of the crates in the storage area, the man scrambles to follow but it's too late. He's walked head first in to Kenny's trap and he knows' it by the look in his eyes. Kenny is smiling as he pushes another crate off of the stack and it lands clear on to the man.

Groans are heard all around as Kenny dusts off his gloved hands.

“You’re lucky I don’t kill you.” He chides, “A few years ago I would have.” Instead, he ties them up and calls it into the cops. They could deal with the paperwork, that wasn’t why he was here.

Stepping away from the minions he glances around to try and locate the real person behind this operation. It was then that he felt the air pressurize before he felt the impact, it felt like a million knives cutting through him like Swiss cheese.

Kenny feels himself being thrown before he really understands what’s happening. He hits the ground hard, tumbling across the yard for a minute before he feels his arm bend the wrong way, snapping in half, breaking in several places. The hooded blonde hisses in pain when he finally lands, hitting a crate hard. Everything hurts, but his chest and abdomen hurt the worst, he looks down at his chest where he’s surprised to see a huge bloody hole is already starting to mend its self. An image of a gory hole where his heart and lungs _should be_ welcomes him.

The snapped bone is fusing back together and he feels it as it cracks back into place, each little bone in his fingers snapping into place like it never even happened. His eyes narrow as he looks up attempting to locate the other obviously gifted person who had surprised attacked him. Had Kenny been anyone else, they would be dead, and this idea sends a chill of anger down his spine.  
  
Kenny feels himself get thrown again, not having seen the person at all responsible. His back hits a particularly thick crate and he knows his back is broken. His shoes are covered in blood from his broken leg, his spine is snapped but he feels it all starting to mend. He can feel himself healing. His eyes dart around to try and find the person responsible in the aftermath. Knowing that if he weren’t able to locate this gifted creep, they would be able to get away and cause a lot more chaos to people who couldn’t defend themselves.

“Come out you coward!” Kenny yells, and it’s all he is able to get out before the man is on him, throwing him against the wall.

The blonde is proud of himself, he’s managed to lure the gifted out. But the pride is short lived as a searing pain shoots up his arm as the gifted human slices off his right hand with a sword. The pain is searing but Kenny has had worse. As the man in black darts forward with a speed that could only be explained by super powers, Kenny dodges to the best of his ability rolling away from the wall and jumping back to his feet, his blood oozing from his hand.

“Mysterion, so we finally meet.” The man in black calls toward the blonde, but Kenny is barely paying attention until he feels his hand regrow and tendons refuse.

“This was a trap?” Mysterion asks, raising an eyebrow behind his mask. All of his bones have refused and he rolls his neck on his shoulders to test his spine. When everything checks out he lets a lazy smile stretch across his face. Something in his subconscious tugs, a familiar game of tag with his broken psyche. It would be easy for him to dispatch this gifted, but he had promised when his baby sister had died, that he would take no more lives.

He wouldn’t.

But the _other him_ would.

The shift was subtle. Kenny’s blue eyes blink a little too long, his eyes fluttering closed for a fraction of a second longer than they should have before they open and the clear blue was now an icy glare.

Laughter erupts from his chest, loud and maniacal. It was so off putting that the man in black took a step back, his stance faltering.

“You can not scare me Mysterion.” The man began, but the way he stood showed he was in defense mode. Kenny’s lips pulled back into a snarl, his gapped teeth flashing dangerously as he took a few steps towards the man with the sword.

“I don’t? What a pity.” The boy in the hood states, his voice deep and clear, almost void of any emotions.

The other man could feel the shift in aura from the man he faced a few seconds ago, there was something wrong with Mysterion’s face. It was almost as if it was a twisted version of the hero, a portrait that someone almost got right, but some how messed up a few details. The man in the black costume took a few steps back, his arm almost lifting in an aborted motion.

“Stay away from me, I was ordered to take you alive. But I swear, come any closer and I—“ The man was not able to finish, the speed he had been using before barely able to save him from the swift motion of Mysterion’s gun. The sound of gunfire echoes throughout the yard as Mysterion aimed and fires as the gifted human attempts to use their super speed to dodge the precision of his bullets.

But that only lasts so long, the pattern of their movements opening up to Mysterion. It took one misstep and the gifted man screams out in pain as Mysterion shoots him in the kneecap. The man skidded on the ground as he fell, blood dripping from the wound as he tries to stand. Mysterion was there in a blink, his hand over the bleeding gash before he shoves his fingers into the bullet wound.

The man screams, a deep and awful sound that Kenny wouldn’t be able to handle had he not switched. This version of him only smiles in the most wicked of ways, enjoying the melody of this mans agony.

“Beautiful, music to my ears.” He chuckles, leaning forward as he offers a predatory look to the pained man. “Please, do scream some more. I love the sound of it.”

Another guttural sound leaves the man as Mysterion pulls a knife from his belt and stabs the gifted in the gut, twisting the serrated knife just _because he could._

 _“You and I are going to have a little chit chat friend._ About who set this trap?” Icy blue eyes glare deep in to the man’s face before he chuckles lightly. “So don’t go dying on me so quickly? _Let’s have some fun first_.”  
  
\----- 

The sunlight was bright in his eyes as he pries them open. The mornings after he switches with his alter ego sucks, it could only be explained as feeling like the worst hangover one could imagine. But at the same time, everything felt brand new and beautiful for a time. So much so, that Kenny has become addicted to switching back and forth. It was one of the only moments that he experienced true happiness. Swearing in that moment, that split second when they change, he was able to _see Karen again._

Stretching, he stands up and cracks his over used joints. His eyes moving to the mirror by his bed, just like always, the morning after he had phantom scars. It was a blessing, really, for when he blacked out into his other self. It gave him an opportunity to see what that crazy bastard had been up to.

This time? He examines the scars, _Mmm looks like a sword?_ He muses to himself. He recalls how he was fighting a gifted with a sword before the other took over and he grins because that means his other half had won against the speed demon. The other him certainly had a flair for dramatics, he’d give him that much. Kenny’s sure his other self made the man’s death very long and drawn out for inconveniencing him.

Padding across his pent house he turns the coffee maker on and leans against the counter. On his fridge are pictures of friends and family, people he cares about. Some of them long dead, some dead to him, and others...

He walks over to the picture of Karen and he gets flashes of the night she died. A deep sadness swirls in his stomach as he frowns at the picture. Kenny can remember the feeling of waking up; his body burnt to a crisp and healing it’s self while a primal scream ripped out of his vocal cords. He can remember pulling himself out of the ashes of his families old home. Remembering the smell of singed skin as it peeled off and regenerated.

His eyes are glassy as his finger traces over the picture of his baby sister. Visions of her body twisted and blackened fill his mind, visions that will haunt him for the rest of his life. The blonde _tsks_ , because knowing the way his powers work, he’d be living forever.

 _It’s my punishment._ He thinks as he pins Karen’s picture back to the refrigerator. _I hope I can make Karen proud one day, earn her forgiveness. Maybe I shouldn't let him out so much._. He chides to himself, mad that he allowed the monster to deal with whatever the issue was last night. His other self had been a defense mechanism at first, but over time, _he_ had grown to become a second person entirely. However, in a way, he was thankful for that version of himself. He never would have survived the aftermath of Karen’s death had the other self not existed, of that, he was sure of.

He stares at the last happy picture they took together before he opens the fridge and grabs a bagel. Kenny muses to himself, was sure he’d be getting a call from Leo any minute now demanding where he was. But he lazily puts his bagel in the toaster, and promptly gives no fucks. He wasn’t in the mood to explain to his partner why he was late, nor was he in the mood to deal with the counsel today. Kenny knew he’d have to explain to Leo why another shipment in downtown was thwarted by the masked vigilantly in purple. Why that super hero had the same eyes as him, had the same gaped smile as him, _the same guilty conscience_ as him.

“You have your sister die and see if it doesn’t change you,” Kenny mutters as he grabs his bagel and heads to the table. “It’s been two years Karen and I still don’t feel like I’ve done enough good to make up for the evils I showed you.” The young man can feel the stabbing pain of guilt digging deeper in to his heart. It had drilled into his flesh years ago and made a nice little nest there, keeping him from completing his work. But it was the least of his worries, after all, the counsel ran everything, Shadow was just a figurehead at this point.

“They don’t need me.” He states, who he was trying to convince, was left unsaid.

It wasn't like his extra curricular activities as Mysterion ever bothered any of the real big leagues. He made it a point to not make waves. To save as many people he could on the ground, letting the big shots handle their work above him in the sky. Never become a blip on their radar. That was how he would make up his evils to his sister, getting back to the basics and helping the civilians that needed it the most.

The sun was bright and he was alive, left here to do good in the wake of so many of his mistakes. Kenny pauses, about to take a bite of his bagel, when he notices a voice mail on his phone. Sighing, Kenny clicks it and expects Leo, but he hears himself instead.

“ _Listen up cupcake. We have something bigger than we thought going down. The funny speedster bled all pretty over my knife and still wouldn’t tell me who was behind this. Be careful sunshine, I enjoy picking up your slack, but it gets tiresome when you’re being a goody-goody. Love and kisses, your self.”_

The blonde frowns out the window of his apartment, putting down his bagel.  Looks like he'd made someone's radar after all.

The sun didn’t look so bright anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no.
> 
> Looks like someone's on to you after all Mysterion


	3. Tic Tock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya fellas! I'm excited to bring this chapter to you all so I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Let me know how you enjoy it.

It was late and Kenny knew it. Leo had called his personal line three times and he hadn’t answered any of them. Personal time meant just that, personal time. And Kenny wasn’t on the clock yet, so he ignored it. He was sure the other would give him an earful for it later, but whatever. It was nothing new; the blonde was used to hearing Leo complain about his actions.

Arriving through the main entrance of the building they used as a cover-up for their operation was always funny. The security checks at the front door were a ruse; the scanner in place wasn’t to check for weapons or anything of the sort. No, it was a power scanner. The machine was one that could detect gifted humans and alert security immediately. Doctor Brofloviski designed it as an extra security measure, not that Kenny thought they needed it, of course. No one knew that the multi-million-dollar company was a front for a secret organization of super powered humans. It was set up that way so they could pull puppet strings from a distance.

No direct interaction; that was for Professor Chaos to handle. The board employed the only working ‘Super Heroes’ and of course provided villains for them to fight, none more prominent than Chaos. How better to control a world full of gifted than to control the good and the bad? It was just good for business.

So, why would they need such high tech security? Kyle had been very adamant about it, and somehow he had the board and Leo backing him.

“Stop right there!” a voice calls out to him as he strolls past the line of already waiting people. Kenny pulls his sunglasses off to address this random security guard, and he supposes this is what he gets for using the front door like a common worker bee.

“You can’t just cut the line. You have to be scanned like-” The man stops mid-sentence, realization dawning on his frightened features.

Kenny sighs to himself as he walks through the detector regardless, the little lift of his lips turning into a lazy smile as he watches the guard cower as his identity flashes across the screen. Or there lack of, as the security guard does not have clearance to see his scan. The words ‘UNAUTHORIZED: CLEARANCE RED’ glaring across the screen.

“Mr. McCormick, sir!” The guard fumbles as he tries to shut down the machine, “I’m so sorry, sir. You don’t need to be scanned.”

Kenny decides to cut the man some slack; he looks like he’s about to have an aneurysm. Lord knows, he doesn’t want to break another one. Good help is so hard to find.

“Hey,” Kenny narrows his eyes at the guard’s name tag, “David. It’s okay, I don’t normally come through the front door, so don’t sweat it.”

The smug smile tugging his lips disappears as he waves to the line of people, “We couldn’t run this business without all of you. Please continue to do such amazing work!”

The murmurs and conversations start up as Kenny begins to walk toward the elevator, clapping and applause echoing through the lobby. Kenny may not be the one running the show anymore, but he’s still the face of the business and anyone at McCormick Enterprises should be able to recognize their boss.

Leo may be the CEO, and the board may own forty percent of his shares, however, as Kenny boards his personal elevator, he’s reminded that this is still his company and his word is law. It’s time to remind his dear old friend that fact.

\-----

“You rang, Leo?” Kenny muses as he walks into the other’s office, strolling up to the solid oak desk and turning a chair backwards as he sits down. The blonde leans his arms against the back of the chair, a comfortable smile sitting on his lips.

Leo’s eyes never leave the paperwork in front of him, his lips curled in concentration. “Kenny, I tried t’call you. Why didn’t ya pick up?” The tone of his voice was even, but Kenny could hear the annoyance he was so used to as it creeps at the edge of the pale boy’s voice.

“Funny thing about having a day off. I was actually, you know, enjoying being _off_. Lost track of time doing something I derive a lot of pleasure from.” Kenny smirks, a deviously coy look in his eyes, the implication of something naughty dancing on his features. Leo glances his icy eyes up at that, but before he can question the sentence, the blonde is off again.

“But you know, it’s not nice to bother me in my off time. Next time maybe text me? I know it wasn’t an emergency, Leo. I would have known.”

Azure eyes glance to the paperwork in front of the other boy before he lifts an eyebrow in question. “Is this official work or an off-the-clock project?” Kenny asks, eyes narrowing. The pale blonde decides to not answer, shuffling his paperwork instead with a small huff of irritation.

Kenny rolls his eyes, it’s clear by the way Leo has closed up his folder that it’s something important that he isn’t about to take lightly. “Is whatever's going on why you disturbed me at home?”

“As a matter of fact, yes it is,” Leo quips as he finally looks up to meet Kenny’s eyes. “An’ I wish you would take this more serious.”

Kenny scoffs as if the words hurt him physically, holding his hand to his chest before leaning backwards. “You wound me, good sir.”

There’s a beat where he’s sure Leo is going to scold him, but instead the blonde cracks a smile. The grin lights up the boy’s entire features, showcasing how young they both really are, no matter how much they’ve seen and experienced.

“You’re a dork,” he muses before that look of concern reemerges over his face. “Another one of the shipments for Broflovski’s project was stopped at the shipyard last night.”

This gives Kenny pause; Leo slides a letter from his folder to the other slowly.

Staring at the letter Leo moves towards him, he picks it up cautiously and starts to skim the information. If any one other than Leo had slid him the information on the paper, he would call them liars, but this was Leopold. And he was the only real person left Kenny could trust entirely in this world.

Gifted.

An entire team of them, from the look of it, “Unsanctioned powers?” Kenny asks, looking up to meet the tired eyes of his longest friend. “In our city.”

“I’m afraid so,” Leo starts as he turns his chair to face the window behind him, “They aren’t part of our Coon and Friends. I sent Eric to attempt to get in contact with their leader, but so far, he hasn’t heard anything back.”

“Well, you _did_ try to send _Cartman_. He isn’t exactly the best person for the job.” Kenny supplies, looking at the blurred photo of three unsanctioned powered humans.

His nose wrinkles, annoyed that the details were unclear. “Where did we get the information?"

“One ‘a Broflovski’s drones.”

The blonde sets the paper down and leans his arms across the back of the chair, resting his chin on his arms and hums to himself. The three in the photo looked like males, perhaps their age. One of them clearly had some type of weather control powers as he was freezing the bullets before they could reach the group. Weather control was a powerful gift to be hiding in a city where gifted people were outlawed, tagged, and registered.

“How did this one stay off the radar?” Kenny asks, his finger poking the blonde in the photo. “Are the enforcers not doing sweeps any more?”

“They are.” Leo states, his eyes scanning over the skyline of the city, “Which means—“

“They have someone who can cloak their powers,” Kenny finishes, a ‘tsk’ sound following shortly after. “That isn’t going to be easy to track down, but… I can’t say I’m not impressed if they can hide from Kyle’s devices.

“I don’t need ya to be impressed with the enemy, Kenny. I called you here because I need you do to somethin’ for me.”

Ah, so the other shoe was finally falling. Kenny quirks his eyebrows and listens, as Leo turns his chair and folds his fingers over his desk, intent clear in his eyes.

“I know you moonlight as a super hero. And b’fore you say anythin’,” his hand darting up as Kenny’s mouth opens, “I don’t care. What ya do in your off time is no concern of mine.”

There’s a pause as Kenny feels his heart in his throat. When did Leo find out about his time as Mysterion? There’s a brief second when he realizes that this entire time, Leo has been watching him, and he feels fear for his eldest friend. But that second passes and the fear washes away as he finds comfort in the smile Leo has perched on his lips.

“After Karen died, I thought I was gonna lose you, Ken,” He starts, his eyes soft. “But you found a way to channel that sadness and loss, and I promise, I will never tell a soul what you’re doing.” His hand reaches out and touches Kenny’s, wrapping his fingers around the boy’s calloused hands. All Kenny can do is gape stupidly at him, a million things running in his mind.

“It’s okay if y’feel you gotta make up for what Karen didn’t like about you. If y’feel you gotta do this for her.” Shaking his head, pale blonde hair cascading over his features, Kenny feels his heart lurch. “I know ya still believe in the cause; it’s why you only interfere in lower tier villainy. And believe me, I wish we could clean up the streets on the ground level, too! Really get in there and kick those small time idiots around like the olden days.”

Kenny is waiting, waiting for the ‘but’, waiting for Leo to shift from his old friend to Chaos. He’s seen it a million times, the way Leo can turn those beautiful eyes so full of love and respect, in to something that garners fear and strikes terror into his enemies.

That moment doesn’t come.

And Kenny is left with his friend and the honest concern and raw unbridled love that he shows for him. He’s reminded why he trusts this person more than anyone else in the world, and why he’s the last remaining person he can call family.

“Leo,” Kenny starts, squeezing his hand for support. “You don’t judge me? For, I don’t know, for being such a hypocrite?” He can hear the waiver in his own voice, the tug of his vocal cords that preludes the tears he refuses to let fall. Kenny hasn’t spoken to anyone about Karen’s death since it happened and he most certainly hasn’t told anyone about his extracurricular activities.

“In our business, Ken. I have no room to judge.” There’s a chuckle before Leo is meeting his eyes, “You do whatever y’need to do, to feel redeemed in Karen’s eyes. And I’ll continue to look the other way, okay?”

Kenny laughs, scrubbing at his eyes with the heel of his hand. “Oh really? So what, should I expect Professor Chaos to reign down hell fire on my base of operations?” The blonde flashes his teeth at Leo, “Or do you want him to join Coon and friends?”

Fingers unclasp over his as Leo retreats from the touch, his eyes seem distant all of a sudden and Kenny can sense the change in the air. This is business now. Feelings aside, Leo had something to ask of him and Kenny isn’t sure if he likes the look on his features.

“No. I need you to infiltrate this rogue group of gifted humans as Mysterion. He’s made a name for himself recently an’ he’s starting to get noticed.” Kenny can feel it now, the other shoe is dropping and he knows something bad is about to leave Leo’s mouth before it even formulates.

“Kenny, I need Mysterion to fight Shadow head on, an’ win.”

The shoe apparently is made of glass and it’s shattering on the floor of Leo’s office.

“No,” Kenny breathes out, his head moving slowly.

“Now liste—“ Leo tries to get out, but Kenny is slamming his hands down on the desk hard enough to rattle the oak.

“I said NO!”

The sound of his voice vibrates through the room; silence follows as it threatened to swallow up the two young men. But Kenny can’t hear the silence; all he hears is the thudding of his heart and his sister’s pleas in his mind. They scream so loud that his shaking hands reach for the sides of his head, holding them firm so that the demons can’t escape from his mind through his ears.

The room is spinning and Kenny can’t hear it, but Leo is speaking. He can feel the fragile remains of his sanity cracking and flaking the brittle wall that separates him from the dark version of himself, licking at the edges of his psyche, begging for him to let go and let _him_ deal with this.

“Kenny, I know you said you’d never be Shadow again. I know you said you were done when Karen died. But we don’t need ya to really be him, just listen to me!”

When had Leo stood up? When had he started crowding his personal space?

Blue eyes met frosted concern in his vision when they peered open, Leo directly in front of him, speaking to him. “If you can’t deal with this, let me talk to _him_. Let me talk to Shadow.”

_A light switch._

That’s how it feels when the two of them tag out, Kenny muses. When something is too hard or too dark, when he needs to be the monster his sister hated with her dying breath. He flips a light switch. _Like when he killed that gifted the other night._

A second passes as Kenny goes limp, Leo holding his shoulders to make sure he doesn’t fall from his chair. When he looks back up he is animated in a manner that seems off, _wrong_. His movements are jerky and his smile crooked.

“Butterfly,” Kenny chimes, before Leo has so much as a chance to move, the body jerks to life. He lifts himself from the chair and climbs on to the desk, dropping right on top of the paperwork. He lifts his legs, swinging around and brings them to fold up crisscrossed, his head tilted in a comedic fashion as he stares at the shorter boy.

Kenny lifts his hand and starts moving it as if the hand were a puppet. “Long time no see cutie-pie. I thought Kenny would let me out to see you more, but boy was I wrroooooong!” he states, throwing his voice so that it almost appears that the hand is the one speaking.

“Kenny,” Leo tries to start, ignoring the other boy’s strange actions. He was used to this, all of the weird dark humor that Kenny once possessed had transferred mostly to _him_.

Laughing Kenny ignores Leo’s plea, instead, moving his hand with flair. “I’m here now, though! I heard you asked for me by name, Buttercup. Oooh, miss me that much, huh?” he quips, his tongue darting out to wet his lips with a bat of his eyelashes.

“Yeah. In fact, I did miss you,” Leo counters, watching as Kenny covers his mouth with his free hand. “That conversation is for another time, though. I need you t’do me a favor.”

“What kind of favor?” the blonde asks, his eyes lidded suddenly as he drops the puppet show and leans forward, taking the smaller boy's necktie in hand and tugging him into his personal space.  His mouth twists into a grin, their noses a hair's breadth apart, “I can do a lot of favors, Buttercake.”

“Not that type ‘a favor. I have a problem I need you to take care of.”

The smile falters when Leo ignores his advances, his lip jutting out in a pout as he listens letting go as he sits back on the desk. Kenny feels a little twinge of disappointment that something went wrong on his other self’s watch, hating that it’s caused Leo to look so irritated.

“What happened?” he continues to pout and waits to find out what went wrong, itching to fix the problem. Because, any problem for Leo is a problem for him and it pains him to watch his friend suffer.

“These men ‘re unregistered powered humans. We’ve been unable to detect them with our equipment an’ we believe they may have a power blocker on their team.”

“Sounds good to me, Butterfly. Who do I gotta fuck up?”

His eyes light back up in a dangerous way, his fingers drumming against his cheek as he awaits his orders.

“Yourself,” Leo adds, walking back over to his chair and sitting down. “I need you to fight yourself and lose.”

“Oooohhhhh hoooo~” Kenny chimes melodically; he picks up the photo of the unregistered gifted and examines it. He memorizes the blurred details the best he can, burns it into his mind’s eye before he stops to think about what Leo is asking him.

“So you want someone as a body double to fight me, is what you’re saying?”

Kenny looks up from the photo, placing the paper against his lips as Leo speaks again.

“Yes. We need someone to pretend t’be Mysterion and fight you. You have to lose an’ lose convincingly. It’s the only way we can be convinced that his name will get out enough that those gifted will wanna contact him.”

The blonde’s shoulders shake in amusement, joy that does not reach his cold uncaring eyes. “Sounds like a barrel of fun!” Kenny laughs, he slips off the desk and stretches his arms, then his sides, before cracking his knuckles.

“Always love the way you think, Butterfree. So damn creative.” The boy chuckles before wiggling the paper at the other. “You want me, the _other_ me, to infiltrate them, huh?” He hums and walks toward the window before rocking back and forth on his heels. “Then what?”

The room is silent as Leo stares at the wall in front of him. The silence is comfortable, but Kenny is on edge, excitement thrumming through his body. He can feel the crackle of power starting to build in the atmosphere, the blue hue of lightening starting to snap and pop around Leo’s form.

The gentle boy’s demeanor changes as his lips spread into a mirror of Kenny’s own smile. “We do what we do best, Ken. We offer ‘em to join us, or—“

There’s a loud pop as Leo points his finger to a frame hanging on the wall. Lightning strikes it and the room suddenly smells like smoke and fire. Laughter bubbles out of Kenny’s chest as he watches the display, his hands clapping together.

“YES! Fuck, I LOVE this job,” Kenny howls as Leo turns to smirk wider at him.

“I always hated that picture anyway,” the blonde chuckles deeply, blowing the smoke from his finger.

Kenny laughs harder, bending backwards with the movement like the sound was ripping out of his body. It’s mechanical, his head tilting back and forth as if ticking like a clock. “Tic tock tic tock,” Kenny starts saying under his breath as he dances around the room, heading toward the frame.

When he reaches it, he plucks it from the ground and turns to the other boy. “Tic tock goes the clock, watch the hand stop,” he pauses as he rips the photo from the broken glass, “as the bodies begin to _drop_.”

“Time’s runnin’ out,” Leo picks up the song with a soft purring vocal, “so you better run,”

“Because Chaos is here, and it’s time for fun~” Kenny joins in as they both sing the last of the terrible song. One that brings back memories of gore and torture, promises of death and destruction.

Laughter fills the room as Kenny tosses the photo into the trash, sauntering to join Leo by the window.

“I guess it’s time to fake my own defeat.” He croons smoothly to the shorter boy, their eyes meeting.

“I’ll call in Christophe.”  
  
“The shape shifter, The Mole?” Kenny’s grin widens. “I love it.”  
  
“I knew you would.”

“They won’t know what hit them,” the blonde states as he takes in a deep breath, watching the flickering lights of the city as night begins to fall. “They never do when we come for them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's Shadow and Chaos' murder song if you wanted it:
> 
> "Tic tock, tic tock,  
> Tic tock goes the clock,  
> watch the hand stop,  
> as the bodies begin to drop.
> 
> Tic tock, tic tock,  
> Time’s runnin’ out,  
> so you better run,  
> Cuz' Chaos is here,  
> and it’s time for fun~"
> 
> Look out, here comes The Mole.


	4. Dancing with the Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go folks, it's time to see what Christophe can really do.

The fight had been raging for so many hours that Kenny lost track of time. When Leo told him to make it ‘believable’, the unhinged version of himself took that a bit more literal than even the pale blonde assumed. Mole was doing a fabulous job of playing the good guy; all of his scripted lines read as genuine with no trace of pretend.  For the most part, the world was (as Kenny could tell from the little snippets of the news he heard from the ear bud he had currently playing in his ear) buying the act.

Shadow dodges a fist before grabbing Mysterion’s wrist and flipping him over his shoulder. A flash of purple exits his peripheral when the boy does not hit the ground, but instead twists his body to land on his feet. Frustration is clear on Shadow’s face, the mask obscuring half of it.

“Stop dancing around!” he snaps at the wanna-be gymnast turned superhero, “Who are you, fucking Mary Lou Retton?”

“No, I just train a lot,” Mysterion quips back, grinning at the fact that he undoubtedly got under Shadow’s skin.

Leaping backwards activating a button in his heel, he propels himself into the air with help of his anti-gravity boots (thank you, Kyle). Kenny’s hands slip under his cloak as he grips for the triggers and pulls, daggers shooting from under the black fabric toward Mysterion.  The boy on the roof dodges them before pulling a large curved weapon from his belt, deflecting what he can’t dodge.

Shadow lands on a nearby ledge, running forward towards the other side of the building. His fingers twitch as he activates the gadget in his gloves, skidding to a stop as he braces his elbow and aims his arm at the boy dodging the metal blades. While he’s distracted, Shadow hits the trigger and fire shoots from his gloves, making it appear that he can manipulate the flames.

One of the many mysteries that shroud the super villain is his ability to harness so many powers at once. Rumors and hearsay, all provided by his own company to the mass media, state Shadow’s power is to either create multi-powers or to steal other gifted people’s powers.  It was a genius idea, really, pretending to have multiple abilities. It was one of the many ways Kenny kept his identity secret.

As the face of McCormick Enterprises and the Powers Registration Act, the world already knew about Kenneth McCormick’s power to regenerate. It was a rare and powerful ability, one that less than one percent of the world’s population could harness.

It was one of the driving forces behind his ability to successfully control and pass the Registration Act.  Because ‘ _If he couldn’t actively be on the field saving others like the brave men and women fighting against the bad people of this world, he could at least help heal the world by being the first to register._ ’ It had worked like a charm.  Kenny was a philanthropist, a man of charisma who had come from the slums, from nothing. From his rise to the top from poverty, leading a now multi-million-dollar company, to willingly register in good faith, Kenny McCormick had become the symbol that the board _needed_ him to be. He was the champion of the people by day, and by night he had been the darkness that haunted everyone’s dreams.

 _Those had been the good times_ , Shadow thought as he dodges one of Mysterion’s attacks. _Back before Karen died, back when we did what needed to be done to get what we want. None of this redemption bullshit._

The other boy snatches his cape and curls it around his body; the flame retardant fabric causing the fire to simply pass over him. Through the smoke, Mysterion quickly speeds forward into Shadow’s personal space, swinging his body into a roundhouse kick. Shadow can feel his body push backwards with the force as he throws his arms up to block it.  Out of the corner of Shadow’s vision he can see Mysterion’s hand pull something from his utility belt. A second too late, he’s blinded by one of the boys flash grenades.

Mysterion lands a punch to Shadow’s jaw in that moment causing the boy to go tumble across the gravel of the rooftop. How the other had been fast enough, or able to predict his movements, astounded him.

But that was the thing about Mole: the man was a genius at infiltrating, and his power of shape shifting was only the tip of the iceberg.  The research he put in was astounding and impressed even Kenny.

\-----

At first the brunette had listened to the detailed plan, but when Leo was finished, his passive face twisted with frustration.

“FUCKING SHIT,” he all but spat at the two young men standing behind the desk, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he pulled out a cigarette. “Why do you only call me in for the dirty jobs?”

Kenny had leaned across the desk, his lighter sparking to life as a small gesture, his teeth flashing in a coy manner before he spoke. “You know we call you when the job is delicate, Christophe.”

“Like hell.  You call me when the job is dangerous and dirty.” The boy paused, eyeing the light before leaning forward to set the end of the paper aflame. With the now lit cigarette perched between his lips, the boy’s visible annoyance seemed to die down a fraction.  “God damn you, Stotch. You better pay me double.”

Kenny’s eyebrow had quirked at that, looking down at the smaller boy who had been oddly quiet throughout the exchange. He noted the tiniest of pulls at the corner of his lips, which indicated he was amused by the Mole’s quirky attitude.

“Now, how come you need double?” the boy asked, fingers daintily folded over each other on the oak desk.

“You know damn well I’m going to have to fight this asshole,” Christophe nodded towards Kenny as he took a long drag, the smoke flowing freely through the air as he opened his mouth to speak again. “Even though I must win, this dick-hole is going to do plenty damage. I was not blessed a healer, Stotch.”

Leo looked up at Kenny, eyes searching briefly before he had turned back to the brunette. “Ya have a point. I doubt Shadow is gonna make this easy for ya.”

“It won’t be realistic if Mysterion just wins,” Kenny chimed from Leo’s side, which earned an angry glance from the smoking man in front of them.

“No fucking shit, Sherlock.” Christophe paused, tapping the cigarette onto an ashtray on the desk. “He is going to attempt to break me.  I am not inclined to take any less than double.”

Leo provided the smallest of huffs, the only tell that he was briefly aggravated at all of the trouble, and nodded at the boy. “How about this: Kenny promises to try not an’ hit any vital areas? We offer ta’ pay your hospital bills, putcha up somewhere nice and swanky ‘til you’re all healed up, and I double the pay? Just for the trouble?”  
  
Mole’s face twisted, his left eyebrow twitching at what Kenny could only assume was realization that he was indeed really going to get hurt during this.  
  
“I spit on your offer. Triple it.” Which, to Kenny’s disgust, Christophe had cleared his throat and in fact, spit right on the floor.

Kenny’s fingers twitched; he could feel the other him itching to take care of this disrespectful clown. But he knew, and somewhere inside him his other self knew, that they needed this man and his skills. Christophe could act this way for the sheer reason that he was a valuable asset that Leo could not afford to lose. 

“Okay.” Leo answered, his eyes flashing with something of finality behind them. “Triple is a fair price for tha’ amount of trouble this will cause you, Mole.”

There was no shock on the brunette’s face; instead there was a twist of his lips as his eyes met Kenny’s, and to Kenny’s surprise, the smile was a perfect mirror of the one he had used earlier while lighting the cigarette.

 _Damn, he is good._ He found himself thinking as he watched the two stand and shake hands, finalizing the deal.

After the meeting, they spent days together, Christophe silently watching and detailing every single movement of _both_.  By the time he was finished, he had both sides of the broken blonde down with a scary amount of accuracy. What Christophe was able to do within the first couple of minutes of meeting Kenny paled in comparison to what he was able to do after days of surveillance.

 _Lord help us if we ever piss him off,_  Kenny mused at one point during their sessions. _He could probably replace any of us._

_\-----_

That was days ago, he muses internally as he spits blood from a cut inside his mouth, and now he’s found himself in one of the most intense battles of his life. Not so much because of who he is fighting, but the amount of control he had to coordinate so as not to damage Mole beyond repair.

The insanity that plagues his mind is attempting to chip away any of his ability to pull his punches, but Kenny fights back out of pure spite. Nothing controlled him except him, no matter how damaged either version was. But right now he is fighting a mirrored version of himself.  The whole thing is really rather poetic, being clad in his Shadow costume and fighting the superhero version of his goodie alter ego, his dark side attempting to lash out even harder from the image of Mysterion alone.

“Almost like I’m fighting the other side of me.” Kenny mutters to himself as he dodges one of the sharp M’s Mysterion threw at him. Dodging was easier than taking the stupid weapon in the side, not that he wouldn’t be able to heal quickly, but patching up his vintage Shadow suit would be too much trouble. Not to mention he didn’t like to heal as Shadow.  That’s the one power he made sure not to showcase.

“You can’t dodge the fist of justice forever, Shadow!” Mysterion yells across the rooftop, the gravel in his voice the perfect pitch.  “You will be taken in for the atrocities you’ve committed!”

“Blah blah _blah_ ,” Shadow laughs, his hands waving in the air as he balances on the ledge of the building. “All I hear is your boring hero talk. My _atrocities_? Jesus, dude, who talks like that?” There’s a hint of a grin on his manic expression, his eyes wide and wild under the black mask. “I feel like I’m in a goddamn Batman comic! You’re soooo full of pathos!”

The other clad in purple stands his ground, pulling out one of his gadgets. Kenny knows full well which one it is, and it just makes his body vibrate with delight. He’s never had a chance to face off against his own weapons before, and this is a prime event for testing them.

“Oh no! What’s that? I’m quaking in my little black booties~” Shadow sings out, spinning on his toes along the ledge as he dances closer, tip toed towards Mysterion. “Inch by inch, scratch that itch. Come for me now, little hero~”

“Take this seriously, you vile villain,” Mysterion snaps, his lips curled in a disgusted snarl before he aims his gun and starts firing. The beauty of Broflovski’s inventions is that they never work how they appear, and this one is no different. Instead of bullets, out of the gun appear little nets that expand and click together midair. When they intersect, they begin to light up with electricity.

 _Aah, nanotechnology. Gotta love it._ Kenny thinks, and in a snap decision, he pretends to lose his footing and allows the net to hit him, as if he was shocked by the fact that it _wasn’t_ bullets.

“Arg!” he groans, hitting the top of the roof and rolling.  “The fuck is this?!” Shadow growls out, his fingers digging against the electrified ropes in an attempt to pull them off. But, as he already knows, every time you struggle, the ropes tighten.

“Stop moving so much before you hurt yourself,” Mysterion offers, the boy in the hood walking closer, somewhat with a limp where Shadow notices one of his daggers had sliced his thigh. “You need to serve time for the deeds you’ve done, not die.”

Through the pain of the voltage coursing through his body, Shadow manages to pull a small pill sized machine from his hidden utility belt. He crushes it between his fingers and an electromagnetic pulse explodes from the gadget. The net instantly falls apart, the nanites glittering the surface of the roof.

A look of fear crosses the stolen face hovering above him and Kenny knows that in that moment, Mole had actually thought it was over. 

“How…” Mysterion gasps, struggling to stand suddenly. Shadow’s lips tug into a smirk as a laugh starts to rip out of his chest.  
  
“Looks like someone got sliced by one of my daggers,” he barks out, standing to full height, shaking off the useless nanites littered on his clothing.  
  
Mysterion’s eyes widen under his mask, blue eyes darting to the cut on his upper calf.  “Poison,” he mutters, head jerking back up to meet the other figure in front of him. “You fucking laced it with poison, you goddamn maniac?!”  
  
Kenny can hear himself tsk loudly.  “Now now, that doesn’t sound very heroic of you, _Mysterion_ ,” he chides, wagging his finger back and forth at the imposter.  “Wouldn’t want anyone hearing you swear like that, _break your perfect imagine_.”  
  
The boy clad in purple wobbles, taking a few painful steps backwards, his hand reaching for his utility belt.  
  
“You cock sucking…” the hero spits out in a whisper, his breath sounding labored as he fiddles with a few different pills in the belt, eyes unsure to which pill was the correct one to take. “No vital areas, my goddamn ass.”  
  
“My my, Mysterion… you aren’t looking so good,” Shadow supplies as he saunters ever closer to the blonde. “You seem like you’re having trouble breathing.” The smirk grows wider as he watches the other swallow the handful of pills with a quiet ‘fuck it’.  
  
He’s mere inches from the blonde, leaning into the other’s personal space, the identical eyes staring back at each other as if looking into a mirror.  Shadow’s hand juts out and snatches the hooded boy by his blond locks, causing the other to grunt loudly, sweat pouring down his skin. Kenny chuckles darkly under his breath as he drags the poisoned Mysterion to the edge of the building.  He can see all of the news reporters, the civilians, and emergency services, all of them watching from the ground.  
  
“Look, _hero_ ,” he spits, his face dangerously close to the other’s. “Look at all of the people you’ve let down.” Kenny’s eyes flash with a twist of disgust as he pulls the mirror of himself even closer to the edge. “Look at how they scurry like ants below us. All of them waiting, watching to see if you can win. They’ll only swarm once you lose, of course. They don’t expect you to actually take me down.”  
  
Shadow drops Mysterion on the ledge, the limp boy falling halfway off, his upper body dangling precariously over the edge. He leans back and tosses his head up to the sky with a boisterous laugh.  Kenny clicks a button in his gloves that activates the device in his mask to project his voice.  
  
“Citizens, _cower before my might_! Look at how your hero has fallen at my feet. Did you honestly believe this one, costumed clown could take me down when armies have failed!?”  His voice booms down toward the crowds, echoing off the sides of the buildings to appear louder than it actually was. “In a world where we, the strong, take what we want, why would you ever put your faith in _this_?”  Kenny grabs the boy hanging from the building, pulling him up and shaking him. “This worthless, weak hero!”  
  
“Because they need me,” Mysterion croaks out, his voice sounding drained and weak. “They need someone who can restore their faith in humanity.” There’s a pause, as if Shadow isn’t aware his mask is broadcasting Mysterion as well.  The script Kenny wrote sounds just as beautiful coming from Christophe's stolen lips as it did from his own when he wrote it.  
  
“They feel broken, defeated. They fear you, but you are but one man, and we are many.” The boy continues, gritting his teeth and lifting his fingers to clench onto the hand holding him.  “They need a symbol to rally to. They needed someone who will never stop. _To remind_ **_them,_ ** to never stop, never _give up_. We are heroes and _we are good_.” Mysterion’s eyes narrow as he pulls himself up to be eye level with Shadow. “Your evil will never win, because we are not broken. Good will win over evil. They needed to remember this! And together, you will **_NEVER AGAIN HOLD US DOWN_**!”  
  
With a practiced move, Mysterion plunges the knife he had hidden under his cloak right into Kenny’s chest.  
  
It hurts more than he remembers it hurting, the feeling of cold metal sliding into his skin, into his heart. He watches as Mysterion staggers away from him, standing straighter than he had previously.  
  
_The antidote must finally be taking effect_ , he thinks to himself.  Good, he didn’t want Mole to die because of one of his slip ups.  He never meant to actually hit him with one of the daggers; the idiot was supposed to stick to the choreographed movements they practiced. Improvisation was never his strong suit.  
  
Blood drips from his lips, a smile stretched across them as he laughs through the pain. “I hate heroes, they always have such a God complex.”  
  
In that moment, just as planned, a pale blonde in shiny armor rises from behind Shadow. _Professor Chaos on his beloved hovercraft_ , Kenny’s mind supplies, _right on time._  
  
“You’re late,” Shadow yells behind him at the boy offering his hand to him, he takes it and steps on to the hovering machine, narrowing his dark eyes down at the purple figure left on the roof.  
  
“Professor Chaos is never late, he arrives when the moment calls for it,” Chaos snickers out, his eyebrows high on his forehead. “You look like shit, Shadow.”  
  
“What an astute observation.  Just get us out of here,” he grits out, his hand holding the knife in his heart as he makes a show of collapsing against the floor of the craft.  
  
“You won’t get away!” Mysterion calls after them, stumbling as he tries to run across the rooftop. “Come back here!”  
  
“Maybe another time,” Chaos bellows back, his blonde locks fluttering in the wind as he takes off. “But not this day.”  
  
There’s a loud bang as Chaos launches missiles toward the rooftop where Mysterion was standing, “I hate to snatch and grab, but it’s time to dramatically exit!” Professor Chaos cackles into the night sky as he uses the smoke and diversion to disappear into the cluster of buildings.  
  
Kenny has no idea what’s going on back on the roof; the missiles were not part of the plan, but leave it to Leo to interject some flair into the situation. The blonde rips the knife from his chest with a hiss, feeling his muscles and skin starting to stitch back together almost as quickly as he removes the metal.  
  
“Son of a bitch, that hurt.  Did it look as painful as it felt?”  he asks, looking up at Leo as the boy navigates them through the sky toward their landing pad.  
  
“Yup, looked about as bad as we choreographed it to, I reckon.” Pale blue eyes glance down at him; a hint of sympathy could be found there. “Yah okay, Ken?”  
  
“Yeah, peachy keen. I hope the plan worked, because I do not want to do that again.” He mutters as he closes his eyes and lets his head hit the cold floor of the machine.  “Mole is one hell of a me.”  
  
\-----

_“...Police are issuing an evacuation for all streets between 21st and 27th as a precaution.  If you are in the area, please get out and get some place safe. It’s been almost two years since Shadow last made an appearance, and he is known to be extremely volatile.”_

_“From what we can see with our studio drones, it appears that another Gifted is fighting Shadow.  We’re unsure of where Shadow has been and why this new hero has decided to challenge one of the most fearsome villains this city has ever seen, but-”_

**_“Citizens, cower before my might!”_ **

_“H-holy shit!”_

_“Gary, get a shot of that!”_  
_  
_ “He’s got Mysterion!!!”

 **_“Look at how your hero has fallen at my feet. Did you honestly believe this one, costumed clown could take me down when armies have failed!?”_ ** _  
_

_“T-this is incredible, it’s like nothing we’ve seen in ages.”_

_“Janet, we need to fall back.”_  
  
**_“In a world where we, the strong, take what we want, why would you ever put your faith in this?”_  
**

_“Get a team at the base of the building!!”_

**_“This worthless, weak hero!”_ **

_“Ma’am, you and your crew need to get across the street.”_  
  
_“Gary, please tell me you’re getting this.”_  
_  
_ “Ma’am, now!”

 _“It seems that the hero we’ve identified as Mysterion-”_ ****_  
_ **_  
_ ** ****_“Because they need me. They need someone who can restore their faith in humanity.”_

 _“He’s...he’s not giving up.”_ ****_  
_ **_  
_ ** ****_“They feel broken, defeated. They fear you, but you are but one man, and we are many.  They need a symbol to rally to. They needed someone who will never stop. To remind them, to never stop, never give up. We are heroes and we are good.  Your evil will never win, because we are not broken. Good will win over evil. They needed to remember this! And together, you will NEVER AGAIN HOLD US DOWN!”_

_“FUCK HIM UP, MYSTERION!!!!”_

_“Shit!!! He stabbed him!!! H-how the hell did he-”_

_“Chaos! It’s Chaos!!!”_  
_  
_ _“Get back! Everyone get_ **_back_ ** _across the street,_ **_now_**!”

 _“Professor Chaos has just arrived, right after Mysterion somehow managed to stab Shadow. Gary, please tell me-”_  
  
_“Ma’am, I-”_  
  
_“F-FUCK!  He shot the building!”_  
  
_“TAKE COVER!”_  
_  
_ “GET ACROSS THE STREET!! C’MON, LET’S MOVE!”

_“Professor Chaos has just launched two missiles at the t-”_

The live news feed cut to static, jumping back to the two reporters at their news studio desk.    
  
“J-Janet?” the woman mutters quietly, holding her fingers up to her earpiece.  
  
“It, uh...it seems as though our live downtown coverage has encountered some interference,” the male anchor’s voice waivers, looking to one of the producers.  “Can we try to figure out what’s going on down there?”

Craig’s jaw tightens, watching the news studio erupt in pandemonium, the female anchor descending into a fit of sobs and burying her head in her hands. 

“You...you don’t think they…?” the small blond at his side whispers, fingers gripping and twisting the fabric of Craig’s sleeve. 

“I don’t know,” the noirette replies softly, swallowing down the lump in his throat on his comfortable couch, miles away from the destruction and carnage downtown, and wanting nothing more than to be there.  To _help_. 

“Tweek,” Craig can’t pull his eyes away from the screen, from the drone shots of concrete and rebar raining down onto the street below.  “I think it’s safe to say Shadow’s back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seems the news caught some peoples attention.
> 
> Looks a lot like the first part of the plan is working out swimmingly....
> 
> What do you think?


	5. Believe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kenny

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for being so patient with us! We've had a ton going on in our real lives and it's been keeping us from writing. Hopefully this chapter marks the beginning of updates across the board.
> 
> I really hope ya'll enjoy this chapter, let us know down below! <3 And as always, thank you so much for your constant support!

It’s dark in his apartment and Kenny shifts along the leather of his couch. It’s late in the afternoon and he has nothing scheduled for the day beyond laying around watching the news. They’re playing the same clips over and over again, the fight between himself and Christophe, the top story. He had a feeling this would happen, hell, it was planned after all. The world in shock that one lone superhero, an unregistered one at that, could come out of the ether and wound the greatest super villain their world had ever seen. It’s the talk of the town, the birds all flocking together to chirp about their new hope.

 _Hope. What a silly concept,_ Kenny muses as his eyes open slowly only to focus on the same clip he has subjected himself to watching on repeat. The blond is at war with himself, wanting very much to leave the world of darkness behind, to do what Karen asked of him, to be the hero she thought he was. But that isn’t his reality, twisted thoughts swirling around in his mind, _how easy it is to fool the masses._ It was true, he knew that. They lap up anything he and his comrades give them, their minds too feeble to see through their rouse. 

Kenny closes his eyes against the moving screen and wrinkles his nose. When they close, images flash through the darkness, images that have conspired while the other him had been awake. It’s hard to sleep when this happens, his body moving to face the back of the couch.

 _Why do you even try to fight me anymore?_ The voice calls out to him, pushing through the barriers in the recesses of his mind. _We used to have so much fun together, didn’t we?_  
  
“Stop it,” Kenny grumbles as he presses a pillow to smother his own face, “go away. You had your fun, now go the fuck to sleep.” He can’t let the voice get too loud, not if he’s going to be alert enough to infiltrate the unregistered gifted. It’s been two days since the fight on the roof and Kenny is starting to wonder if they even saw it, it’s a silly thought since he knows damn well the entire world saw the fight. But there is a part in the back of his mind where he hopes they didn’t, a tiny little part of him that’s excited by the concept of unregistered supers to fight against, or even, with.

 _Don’t tell me you’re entertaining the idea of going good still?_ The voice echoes in his mind, clearly disgusted at the prospects of Kenny doing anything against the psychotic tendencies that run deep through his broken psyche. _We aren’t heroes, we’re the person that steps on the heroes._ There's the briefest of pauses before Kenny hears a sneer in his mind, _you and I need to get back on the same page, Kenneth._ Kenny’s had enough, he sits straight up on the couch, throwing the cushion back against the sofa.

“Leave me alone.” He states loudly to himself, the silence of the room sounds deafening as the voice quiets, leaving Kenny to himself. The blond presses his feet to the floor, the wood under his toes feels cold but he barely registers it as he squints at the screen in front of him. Something new is playing that isn’t the same reel that’s been going the last two days solid. Kenny reaches for the remote, clicking the sound, and watches.

The picture cuts in and out, overlapping with static and the repeated footage of his fight, until it clears, a masked young man with vibrant green eyes and inky black hair focused in the center of his television.  The man’s attention is on something out of frame, giving the faintest of nods before his attention shifts fully to his audience. To _Kenny_.  
  
_“Your deeds have not gone unnoticed,”_ the man starts, his voice is low, almost gravelly, _“and with the reemergence of Shadow, we need all the help we can get. We stand for Freedom in this world that wants us tagged and locked up for what and who we really are.”_ He takes a step closer to the camera, eyes never blinking as he continues to speak evenly despite the power in his words.   _“Mysterion,”_ the name chimes like a bell in Kenny’s vast apartment, _“Even in the darkest of times, there is always hope.”_ Green eyes flash icy blue, irises glowing behind the mask, _“Join us and become the beacon in the dark.”_

The image of the masked man disappears, a set of coordinates appearing on the screen for several moments before the television snaps back to the news, the reporters analyzing the footage frame by frame.

Kenny turns the television off, his vision is swimming and he can feel his adrenaline pumping through his veins. _They fell for it,_ he hears the voice reemerge from the depths of his mind, _they’re calling out for us._ The word ‘us’ lingers longer than it should, and Kenny feels his stomach drop, he doesn’t want the other side of him getting ahold of these supers before he gets his chance to…

 _Do what exactly?_ His mind interrupts his train of thought and Kenny finds himself gritting his teeth. Kenny stands from his place on the couch, taking a few steps before he lowers himself to sit on the ground taking a meditational stance. Kenny closes his eyes and imagines seeing two of himself. The world is devoid of light except for the glow coming off of Kenny in this vision, his eyes boring into the same pair across from him.

The darkness swirls and swarms around his other self, a purple mist oozing off of him. As always, it feels toxic and suffocating to be in close proximity with this part of his own mind. Kenny knows he has to stay strong or he won’t be able to pull himself together enough to repress the other him. As his physical body meditates, Kenny’s consciousness begins to circle the other, walking around him with his hands laced behind his back.

“You need to let me take the lead,” Kenny starts, his electric blue eyes piercing into the purple of the doppleganger. Said version of himself smiles at that, a wide manic grin pulling across his normally handsome features, twisting them into something comical and ugly. _A fun house mirror_ , Kenny remembers Karen saying once and he attempts to calm his racing heart.

“Stop questioning me at every turn or we won’t be able to--” The doppleganger takes a leap forward his hands outstretched as he presses his fingers to Kenny’s lips with a loud shushing sound.

“I’m you, kiddo. I know what you really want, ain’t like you can hide nothin’ from me. I’m not Buttercup.” Dark Kenny lets out a low chuckle before his fingers are carding through Kenny’s hair, “You can lie to him all day long, but you can’t fool me. I’m you.” The purple mist curls up Kenny’s limbs as it snuffs out the blue glow that surrounds him. He can feel himself being pushed down, the edges of his mind becoming fuzzy. The other Kenny laughs, he’s pushing against Kenny’s consciousness.

Kenny takes a deep breath, his body doing the same outside of the imagery. He knows what he needs to do to push back. He calms himself and finds his center, he finds _Karen,_ and the other self lets go of him as if the mere touch of Kenny burns. The blue that radiates from his form glows regaining its brightness as a small girl appears behind him, her little hand taking Kenny’s inside of hers. Two pairs of identical blue eyes stare up at the dark version of Kenny’s mind and it hisses at their combined light.

“She’s a bandaid, you know that right?” It growls as it walks back and away from them, “She’s dead. You know she’s dead! She died because of us! And NOTHIN’ we do will EVER bring her back!”

The little girl, the younger version of Karen that Kenny will remember for the rest of his miserable life, shakes her head. She looks up at Kenny then back to the doppelganger and smiles in the sweet knowing way she would. “Big brother wants redemption and you’re keeping him from getting it.” Kenny knows that this Karen isn’t real, he’s aware that she’s a representation of the goodness inside of him. But it warms his heart, makes him stronger, with her little hand pressed against his palm.

The shadow; amply named, backs further into the darkness, his eyes a bright purple that has started to dull, the only thing left showing of him. “She won’t always be here to save you,” it curses as Kenny feels the small hand tighten in his.

“I know.” Kenny answers, his blue eyes reopening as he takes one more deep breath from his conscious body.

“ _I know._ ” He repeats in his real voice, standing from the place where he was meditating. His hand feels cold without Karen there and he closes it into a fist. “But the road to redemption starts now.”

The blond looks to the television, the screen paused on the last scene it had held. His salvation was right in front of him and as much as Leo thinks he’s doing this to bring them to him, he’s really doing this for her.

\----- 

Kenny finds himself in a coffee shop across the street from the coordinates given to him by the unregistered supers. He’s sitting at the window in one of the many disguises he’s cultivated over the years. Broflovski is convinced that the perfect way to be incognito was to throw on a wig, which honestly Kenny still to this day can’t wrap his mind around the reasoning, but the proof was hard to ignore. The entire world knows what Kenneth McCormick’s face looks like, it isn’t as simple as slipping out the back down for him to get around the city. It was Kyle’s idea to put together a few different costumes for Kenny when he wanted to go somewhere unnoticed.

One of those costumes is certainly helping him now as he scouts the area. It’s funny how throwing on a brunette wig with a different haircut than his own, fake glasses, and a baseball cap, could hide him from most people’s radars. Pair that with clothes his billionaire persona would never be caught wearing, and you have yourself a successful way to get around. Catching a glimpse of himself in the window, Kenny can’t help but feel a pang of nostalgia. Whenever he wears this get up it always reminds him of his older brother, Kevin.

Kenny swallows down that pain and turns back to the scene in front of him, now wasn’t the time to take a stroll down memory lane. Reaching his hand up as if he’s adjusting the fake glasses, he activates the software hidden inside to zoom in and take a few pictures of the area across the street. It isn’t anything special, in fact, it’s unassuming and Kenny almost wishes he hadn’t silenced his other half; his instincts when it comes to these types of situations were much more honed than Kenny’s.

He lifts his coffee to his lips and is disappointed to find that the cup is empty, how long had he been there staring at the spot, willing something to happen? Anything?

These gifted weren’t amatures, that was sure from the way they hijacked the airwaves without anyone but himself being aware. He hasn’t received a call from Leo or Kyle, so that tells him they were somehow able to zero in on his location. Perhaps one of the members of their gang has the ability to track people? Kenny shivers at the idea; that could be potentially dangerous. Disguises and masks would do little against someone with that type of power.

It takes him a second to realize there’s someone standing next to him, their presence almost nonexistent, and it takes everything in his power not to flinch.

“I’m sorry?” Kenny asks as he glances up at the person, the blond had been speaking previously without Kenny really hearing what he said.

“I asked if you’d like a refill?” The blond next to him is holding a coffee pot and Kenny feels a little silly that he had been so spooked, he’s on edge but to be caught off guard by a barista in a coffee shop was preposterous. Kenny allows a soft smile to spread over his lips as he lifts his ceramic mug to allow the other access.  
  
“You’re awfully light footed, I didn’t hear you walk up.” He admits as the young man pours the liquid, “That wouldn’t happen to be a super power now would it?” Kenny’s eyes light up with humor as the other’s shoulders shake ever so slightly with mirth.

“Mmm, n-no. Not exactly.” He answers before taking the coffee pot away from the cup and smiling back at the other. The barista glances at the window briefly before returning his eyes back to Kenny, “I don’t have powers, but I’d like to t-think if I did they’d be related to something c-cooler than being unnoticed.” The tone of his voice is soft even through the slight stutter and Kenny feels drawn in by this new person. He leans his jaw on his palm and lifts an eyebrow in response before putting the mug to his lips and taking a sip of the warm liquid.

“I see, well. I can say now that I see you, it would be hard to forget.” Blue eyes flash as he feels his charisma kicking in, it’s like a second skin, the persona he puts on for the world. Even while wearing a disguise, Kenny can’t shake that second self he so often wears. It’s almost like clock-work that the other man’s cheeks flush, his head ducking and bangs swooping over his eyes. He’s nervous, the flirting has knocked the other boy off his solid ground and that’s how Kenny likes to level the playing field in his favor. With a little flash of teeth, Kenny nods toward the blushing man who is now fiddling with the coffee pot attempting to formulate a response.  
  
“Have you been working here long?” Kenny asks under the guise of small talk, the other blinking his aqua eyes back at Kenny. He nods once and the blond’s bangs, which Kenny will note are a little too long and unruly, shift over his features.

“M-my parents own the shop,” There’s a pause before the man shifts to reach his hand out to Kenny, “I’m Tweek, as in, Tweek of Tweak Brothers.” A laugh flits out of his lips as Kenny takes his hand, he grips it firmly yet not too strong before letting go.

“Oh, well now I feel silly. I’m standing in the presence of someone of influence.” The blond’s lips stretch across his features as the other man laughs just a hint louder than before.

“Stop, it’s just a coffee shop. N-nothing too important, just saving the world one under c-caffeinated person at a time.”

Kenny’s eyes dart to activity to his right, outside the window he could have sworn he had seen something or someone near the alleyway by the coordinates. He’s itching to go see if someone is there, but he knows there’s no way he can go like this. This was a stake out after all, he wasn’t going to actually engage with the unregistered gifted.

The easiest way to gather information was to use your resources, if Tweek’s parents owned the coffee shop across the street, there was a good chance he knew about the area. Kenny places his mug down on the table before he turns to Tweek in a nonchalant manner.

“You’re doing important work here, who else is going to calm the masses with espresso? Lord knows if I don’t have my coffee in the morning I can be such a monster.” Kenny laughs under his breath, it appears Tweek has found that just as amusing as he nods along in agreement.

“Tell m-me about it, I can’t even get out of bed without two shots of e-espresso.”  The smaller barista shifts on his feet before his eyes hit the ground then back up at Kenny. The little movements, the shifts in his demeanor, and the sheer fact that he hasn’t tried to leave yet, all clue in the blond that he’s interested.  It shouldn’t be too hard to extract information at this point.

“Say, Tweek,” Kenny starts as he pulls his full attention to the blond, “What do you know about that building across the street?”

Said blond’s features change for half a second to indicate his surprise at the topic, but he catches himself quickly in recovery and glances to the window. “The construction site? O-oh, well, they were building a restaurant but I don’t think I’ve seen any construction workers in days.” He sighs loudly before shifting so his hip is protruding a bit, annoyance wafting off of him. “I m-mean, what do we pay taxes to the city for if t-they aren’t going to finish the work?”

Kenny nods along to the conversation, it makes sense that the gifted group would want to pick something secluded and it made more sense as to why the scene had been seemingly abandoned.

He’s pulled out of his musings by Tweek’s next question, “Why?”

Blue eyes roam over the construction site before he cocks his head back in the blonds direction, his smile is soft and open as he speaks. “It’s such an eye sore, I was just wondering how much longer they were going to take.”

“Amen to that,” Tweek starts before Kenny notices the little shift, he’s moving from one foot to the other as if he’s nervous and it’s actually kinda cute that Kenny is making him so on edge. “I was w-wondering…” The blond continues but Kenny stops him with a raise of his hand. 

“You know, I was wondering something too. I hope it’s not too presumptuous of me to ask for the number to this fine establishment? After all, I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you by asking for your number, but I would like the chance to talk to you more.”

Tweek’s shoulders jump and Kenny is sure the blond is going to drop the entire pot of coffee at his question, not exactly the response he expected but he could work with it. “Aah, too much?” He asks as he moves forward, hand outstretched just in case the pot goes for the floor.

“N-no! I just.. Your name?” Tweek asks, his eyes darting around the room nervously, shyly maybe? He’s nibbling on his bottom lip and Kenny can’t help but be taken in by how attractive his nervous little tics are.

“Wow, how rude can I be? I didn’t even realize I hadn’t offered mine! My name is Ken.” Kenny looks to the side, back to the building across the street, itching to go inspect the movement he swears he saw again. Instead, he reaches inside his pocket and pulls his phone out, opening his contacts. “May I ask for your number, or should I add this contact as _Tweek Brothers_?”

Tweek laughs as his eyes dart to the side once more, “You’re pretty smooth, Ken.” There’s a half a beat where his voice sounds steadier, his demeanor doesn’t appear as fragile and if Kenny hadn’t been paying close attention, he might have missed it all together. But something in the way his voice shook less in that statement raises the hairs on the back of Kenny’s neck. Something isn’t quite right, but he pushes that down to analyze later. Maybe this man is more than meets the eye, or maybe Kenny has had to much coffee while being on edge and has started looking for things where it doesn’t exist.

“I try.” Kenny offers as Tweek takes his phone, the other types carefully before handing it back. His fingers brush against Kenny’s only briefly in the exchange and Kenny can’t help but notice how cold he is to the touch.

“You may want to turn the AC down, Tweek. Your hands are a little cold.” It’s in the way the man’s lips curve, a little mischievous in response, that Kenny takes note of as he texts the other. It’s the fastest means of information exchange, so they both have each others information. He pointendly does not mention his last name and wonders in the back of his mind why Tweek isn’t asking.

“Mmm, I’m told that a lot.” Tweek responds as he holds him up his hand and wiggles his fingers, “Poor circulation.”

The way the other man holds himself seems different and Kenny ponders if perhaps this was Tweek’s goal from the get go. He’s no stranger to this type of situation so he just smiles as Tweek says his goodbyes and promises to text him back after his shift. People come and go, it’s a game that Kenny is perficient in after all. This is territory he’s quite used to, unlike this business with the unregistered gifted. He’s annoyed that nothing has happened beyond the small hint of movement he encountered out of the corner of his eyes and wonders if the gifted had been serious about contacting him after all.

The rest of the stake out goes uneventful. He zooms in on the alleyway where he saw movement, a couple of times, but nothing moves again. It’s frustrating, but the pain of annoyance is alleviated somewhat by the off and on presence of Tweek, whom was kind enough to grace him with his presence a few more times during his stay.

Kenny finds himself back home later than intended and more irritated than he had been when he left. He’s stripped off his disguise and debating throwing on his Mysterion costume to go prowl the construction site. Instead he opts to take a long hot shower because lord knows he needs to calm down and unwind once in a while.

 _If the gifted hadn’t planned on meeting him today, why did they even bother to invite him there?_ He tries to push the thoughts out of his mind as he washes his hair and lets the events of the day drain down with the water. He turns the shower off and reaches for a towel, drying his hair as he swipes one hand over the mirror. His image glares back at him and for a moment it feels menacing, like it’s not his own face he’s staring into. _I don’t even recognize myself anymore_. He thinks as he continues to dry the water from his messy locks. He’s right, the confliction in his conviction is new and confusing.  He’s always done what he’s had to do to get to the next level and he never questioned what he was doing or if it was morally corrupt.

 _Now_ , now things were different. Now he was questioning his every move. Did he do the wrong thing today? Should he have shown up as himself? Should Mysterion have shown up? _What if I fucked up my one chance?_

Padding into his bedroom, his eyes catch a glow on his screen indicating a message. He’s expecting one from Leo or even from Tweek, but what he gets is from neither. The room feels five degrees colder as his eyes catch the **_UNKNOWN_** number displayed across his phone.

His hands shake, be it from excitement or something else, he reaches out and takes the phone from the nightstand and swipes to open the message.

** Unknown ** **: It was so good of you to show up today. Don’t worry, you didn’t see us, but we saw you. Meet us tomorrow night at the construction site beside the DO NOT ENTER sign. Needless to say, you may want to come in costume this time.**

A thrill sends a shiver down his spine as he feels his lips curve into a smile. They had him, they had him and it was an _exciting prospect._ It was a good thing he had come in disguise, he had been under the impression he was walking into the game to get the instructions. What he hadn’t known, was that the game had started long before he had arrived. The blond’s shoulders start to shake as he laughs, his entire body moving with the noise escaping from his chest.

Okay, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all. If this was how they were going to play, Kenny was a ready and willing participate.

Game on.


End file.
